APPLICATION OF DERIVATIVES

INTRODUCTION:-
Derivative can be described as the slope at a point on a line around the
curve and it is the most basic tool of calculus. It is also the rate of
change at which one quantity changes with respect to another.
We can say that the derivative is an Instantaneous rate of change
that is, the ratio of the instant change in the dependent variable with
respect to the independent variable. The derivative of a function of a
real variable measures the sensitivity to change of the function value
(output value) with respect to a change in its argument (input value).
Derivatives are a fundamental tool of calculus. For example, the
derivative of the position of a moving object with respect to time is the
object's velocity: this measures how quickly the position of the object
changes when time advances.

The derivative of a function of a single variable at a chosen input value,

when it exists, is the slope of the tangent line to the graph of the
function at that point. The tangent line is the best linear approximation
of the function near that input value. For this reason, the derivative is
often described as the "instantaneous rate of change", the ratio of the
instantaneous change in the dependent variable to that of the
independent variable.
Derivatives may be generalized to functions of several real
variables. In this generalization, the derivative is reinterpreted as a
linear transformation whose graph is (after an appropriate translation)
the best linear approximation to the graph of the original function. The
Jacobian matrix is the matrix that represents this linear transformation
with respect to the basis given by the choice of independent and
dependent variables. It can be calculated in terms of the partial
derivatives with respect to the independent variables. For a real-valued
function of several variables, the Jacobian matrix reduces to the
gradient vector
The process of finding a derivative is called differentiation. The reverse
process is called ant differentiation. The fundamental theorem of
calculus states that ant differentiation is the same as integration.
Differentiation and integration constitute the two fundamental
operations in single-variable calculus

History :-
Calculus, known in its early history as infinitesimal calculus, is a
mathematical discipline focused
on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. Isaac
Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz independently discovered
calculus in the mid-17th century. However, both inventors claimed that
the other had stolen his work, and the Leibniz-Newton calculus
controversy continued until the end of their lives.
The Derivative as a Function:-
The derivative of a function f (x) is just another function of x and hence
is not necessarily independent of x. There can be various forms of the
function, that is, it can be in the form of a linear equation, quadratic
equation, trigonometric equation, hyperbolic equation, logarithmic
equation and many more. All of them follow their own laws of
differentiation.

Definition:  The derivative of a function f (x) is the function f ′ (x) and

can be written as
 Basic Differentiation Formulas:-
Suppose f (x) and g (x) are differentiable functions, c is any real number,
then

 Differentiating a Constant value

Where c is a constant

For example.
In simpler terms, any function independent of x that is with only a
constant component when differentiated equals 0.

 Addition function derivative:-

When differentiating a function which can be broken down into 2
simpler functions, in the same variable, the easiest method to
differentiate them is to do it separately and then adding them up to
simplify them further.

Subtraction function
derivative:-
When a function is given such that it can be transformed into 2
separate equations where one is being subtracted from the other, you
may follow the rule mentioned below. You must be extremely careful
of the negative sign while following this rule.
 Constant derivative:-
When a constant value and a function are placed alongside each other,
you simply have to differentiate the constant and multiply it with the
constant. In simpler terms, you do not differentiate the constant.

 Multiplication Of derivative:-
When a function can be broken down into two separate functions say
f(x) and g(x) in a multiplicative form, you first multiply f(x) while keeping
g(x) constant and then multiply g(x) while keeping f(x) constant. You
then add them bot
h to get the result.

Division of derivative:-
The rule to be followed in the division function is given below. You
must be extremely careful of the signs and powers when working on a
division derivative.

T
he Exponential Rule:-
 

Differentiation:-
Differentiation is the action of computing a derivative. The derivative of
a functiony = f(x) of a variable x is a measure of the rate at which the
value y of the function changes with respect to the change of the
variable x. It is called the derivative of f with respect to x. If x and y are
real numbers, and if the graph of f is plotted against x, the derivative is
the slope of this graph at each point

Thus The simplest case, apart from the trivial case of a constant
function, is when y is a linear function of x, meaning that the graph of y
is a line. In this case, y = f(x) = mx + b, for real numbers m and b, and
the slope m is given by

Notation:
Two distinct notations are commonly used for the derivative, one
deriving from Leibniz and the other from Joseph Louis Lagrange. In
Leibniz's notation, an infinitesimal change in x is denoted by dx, and the
derivative of y with respect to x is written suggesting the ratio of two
infinitesimal quantities. (The above expression is read as "the derivative
of y with respect to x", "dy by dx", or "dy over dx". The oral form "dy
dx" is often used conversationally, although it may lead to confusion.)

In Lagrange's notation, the derivative with respect to x of a function f(x)

is denoted f'(x) (read as "f prime of x") or fx′(x) (read as "f prime x of x"),
in case of ambiguity of the variable implied by the differentiation.
Lagrange's notation is sometimes incorrectly attributed to Newton.

Therefore, the limit of the difference quotient as h approaches zero, if it

exists, should represent the slope of the tangent line to (a, f(a)). This
limit is defined to be the derivative of the function f at a:

applications of derivatives:-
By now, you must have studied the calculation of derivatives,
which is basically how to find the derivatives of different functions like
composite functions, trigonometric functions, implicit functions, and
logarithm functions, etc. But, it’s time to know the application of
derivatives and understand how and where to apply the concept of
derivatives.

Usually, the concepts of derivatives get applied in science, engineering,

statistics and many other fields.

Finding the rate of change of a quantity:-

This is the most basic use of derivative that helps find the instantaneous rate of
change of quantity.
Example: To find if the volume of a sphere is decreasing then at what rate the
radius will decrease.
If we have one quantity y which varies with another quantity x, following some
rule that is, y = f(x), then
dy/dx represents the rate of change of y with respect to x.

Finding the equation of tangent and normal for a

curve at a point:-
 Tangent can be defined as a line that touches a curve at a point
and it will not cross it at that point if extended. Normal is a line that is
perpendicular to the tangent to the curve at that point.

The equation of a line passes through a point (x 1, y1) with finite slope m
is
y – y1 = m(x – x1)
Let’s say if the function is y = f(x), then the slope of the tangent to the
curve at the point (x1, y1) can be defined by fꞌ(x1).
Therefore, the equation of the tangent to the curve at the point (x 1, y1)
would be
y – y1 = fꞌ(x1) (x – x1)
and as the normal is perpendicular to the tangent the slope of the
normal to the curve y = f(x) at (x1, y1) is

So, now the equation of the normal to the curve is

A tangent at a point on the curve is a

straight line that touches the curve
at that point and whose slope is
equal to the gradient/derivative of
the curve at that point. From the
definition, you can deduce how to
find the equation of the tangent to
the curve at any point. Given a function y = f(x), the equation of the
tangent to this curve at x = x0 can be found in the following way:
  Find out the gradient/derivative of the curve at the point x = x0 :
To do this one needs to calculate dydx⌋x=x0. Let us call this
value m, in analogy to the slope of a straight line.
 Find the equation of the straight line passing through the
point (x0, y(x0)) with slope m. This is quite straightforward and can
be found out as

y–y1x–x1=m

You have found out the equation of the tangent to the curve at
the given point!

Normal:-
A normal at a point on the curve is a straight line that intersects the
curve at that point and is perpendicular to the tangent at that point. If
its slope is given by n, and the slope of the tangent at that point or the
value of the gradient/derivative at that point is given by m; then we
have m×n = -1. Steps for finding the normal to a given curve y = f(x) at a
point x = x0:

 Find out the gradient/derivative of the curve at the point x = x0: This
first step is exactly the same as in the method of finding the equation
of the tangent to the curve i.e. m = dydx⌋x=x0
 Find the slope ‘n’ of the normal: As the normal is perpendicular to
the tangent, we have:

n=−1m

 Now, find the equation of the straight line passing through the
point (x0, y(x0)) with slope n. The equation is given by:

y–y1x–x1=n
 Finding the interval wherein a function has been
increasing or decreasing:-
We need to use the derivative for figuring out if a function is increasing
or decreasing or none.
On an interval in which a function f is continuous and differentiable, a
function will be
 Increasing if fꞌ(x) is positive on that interval that is, dy/dx >0
 Decreasing if fꞌ(x) is negative on that interval that is, dy/dx < 0
 Constant if fꞌ(x) = 0 on that interval.

Finding the turning point of a curve and therefore

find maximum and minimum values:-
This basically is helpful in finding the turning points of the graph in
order to calculate at what point the graph reaches its highest or lowest
point. It also is useful in drawing the graph.
 At x= c if f(x) ≤ f(c) for every x in the domain then f(x) has
an Absolute Maximum.
 At x = c if f(x) ≤ f(c) for every x in some open interval (a, b) then
f(x) has a Relative Maximum.
 At x= c if f(x) ≥ f(c) for every x in the domain then f(x) has
an Absolute Minimum.
 At x = c if f(x) ≥ f(c) for every x in some open interval (a, b) then
f(x) has a Relative Minimum.
In the above figure, it is absolute maximum at x = d and absolute
minimum at x = a.
Relative maximum at x = b and relative minimum at x = c.
Relative minimum and maximum would be jointly called Relative
Extrema and absolute minimum and maximum would be
called Absolute Extrema.
In mathematical analysis, the maxima and minima (the respective
plurals of maximum and minimum) of a function, known collectively as
extrema (the plural of extremum), are the largest and smallest value of
the function, either within a given range (the local or relative extrema)
or on the entire domain of a function (the global or absolute extrema).
Pierre de Fermat was one of the first mathematicians to propose a
general technique, adequality, for finding the maxima and minima of
functions.
As defined in set theory, the maximum and minimum of a set are the
greatest and least elements in the set, respectively. Unbounded infinite
sets, such as the set of real numbers, have no

Finding the approximate values of a quantity:-

We would need to use differentiation for finding the approximate
values of certain quantities. Let’s say that there is a very small change in
one variable that corresponds to the other variable, then we can utilise
the differentiation to find the approximate value.
The differentiation of x is represented by dx is defined by dx = x where x
is the minor change in x.
The differential of y is represented by dy is defined by (dy/dx) ∆x = x.
As x is very small compared to x, so dy is the approximation of y, hence
dy = y

Radius Of Curvecure:-
At a point, P, on a given curve, suppose we were to draw a circle which
just touchesthecurve and has the same value of the curvature
(including its sign). This circle is called the "circle of curvature at P”. Its
radius, is called the "radius of curvature at P”andits centre is called
the“centre of curvature at P”.

The derivative as a function:-

The derivative at different points of a differentiable function. In this
case, the derivative is equal to: Let f be a function that has a derivative
at every point in its domain. We can then define a function that maps
every point  to the value of the derivative of  at This function is written f
′ and is called the derivative function or the derivative of f.
Sometimes f has a derivative at most, but not all, points of its domain.
The function whose value at a equals f′(a) whenever f′(a) is defined and
elsewhere is undefined is also called the derivative of f. It is still a
function, but its domain is strictly smaller than the domain of f.
Using this idea, differentiation becomes a function of functions:
The derivative is an operator whose domain is the set of all functions
that have derivatives at every point of their domain and whose range is
a set of functions. If we denote this
operator by D, then D(f) is the function f′.
Since D(f) is a function, it can be evaluated
at a point a. By the definition of the
derivative function, D(f)(a) = f′(a).
For comparison, consider the
doubling function given by f(x) = 2x; f is a
real-valued function of a real number,
meaning that it takes numbers as inputs
and has numbers as outputs: The operator D, however, is not defined
on individual numbers. It is only defined on functions: Because the
output of D is a function, the output of D can be evaluated at a point.
For instance, when D is applied to the squaring
2
function, x ↦ x , D outputs the doubling function x ↦ 2x, which we
named f(x). This output function can then be evaluated to get f(1) =
2, f(2) = 4, and so on.
Real-life Applications of Derivatives:-
 Vehicles have the odometer and the speedometer that tells the
driver the speed and distance, which is usually worked through
derivatives for transforming the data in miles per hour and distance.
 Even when it comes to business,we can calculate the profit and
loss with the help of derivatives, through converting the data into a
graph.
 In the world of physics, derivates are used for finding the velocity
of the body. In fact, Newton’s second law of motion also states that the
derivative of the momentum of a body equals the force applied to
the body.
 For finding the change in the population size, derivatives are
useful for calculating the growth rate of the population.
 In economics, derivatives are used for finding the marginal cost of
the product and the marginal revenue to the company. For instance, if
the cost of producing x units is the p(x) to the company, then the
derivative of p(x) will be the marginal cost that is, Marginal Cost =
dP/dx.
 The geology field uses derivatives to find the rate of flow of heat.
So, in this way, there are various applications of derivatives in our daily
lives for finding how something is changing.

This was our article on applications of derivatives. For an article on

introduction to definite integrals
References:-
1.  Spivak 1994, chapter 10.
2.  Banach, S. (1931), "Uber die Baire'sche Kategorie
gewisser Funktionenmengen", Studia. Math. : 174–179..
Cited by Hewitt, E; Stromberg, K (1963), Real and abstract
analysis, Springer-Verlag, Theorem 17.8
3.  Apostol 1967, §4.18
4.  Manuscript of November 11, 1675 (Cajori vol. 2, page
204)
5.  "The Notation of Differentiation". MIT. 1998.
Retrieved 24 October 2012.
6.  Evans, Lawrence (1999). Partial Differential Equations.
American Mathematical Society. p. 63. ISBN 0-8218-0772-2.
7.  Kreyszig, Erwin (1991). Differential Geometry. New
York: Dover. p. 1. ISBN 0-486-66721-9.